The first Camp Magic program will take place at Birrigai at Tharwa from April 5 to 7, providing grief education and support for children aged seven to 17.

The camp is run by not-for-profit organisation Feel the Magic.

Founder and managing director James Thomas said the camp ran at no cost to the children or their families, with expenses met by corporate sponsorship and government funding.

“We know that one in twenty Australian children have experienced the loss of a parent or sibling, and that loss is much more difficult to deal with around Christmas time,” Mr Thomas said.

“We also know from experience that our camps are magic and that there has been a huge demand for our program over the last five years, which is why we’re thrilled to announce the Canberra Camp Magic to be held at Birrigai next April."

Mr Thomas, 38, and his wife Kristy have run the organisation since 2013. He had lost both his parents by the age of 31, and she lost her brother to cancer when they were children.

"I didn't know how to grieve, I didn't know how to address the fact that I was in pain," Mr Thomas said.

"I didn't know anyone else in my situation, being a young adult. So I found peace in supporting others who were going through a grief experience, especially children. We realised there was nothing out there for kids to come together and learn how to deal with their grief.

"As a Western society, we believe that kids need to get over it and just move on. And we always put a time frame on grief, whereas there's no time frame on grief, you've got to learn to live with it."

Mr Thomas, a former signwriter from Sydney, said the camps were usually held there but the operation had been extended to Canberra with the help of local families.

"The camps are a lot of fun," he said.

"Kids are given age-appropriate tools to deal with their grief, at different stages of their grief as well. There's confidence-building, team-building, resilience-building activities. The kids are all led by mental health professionals. And each child is matched with a mentor, and that mentor is with them every step of the way.

"It's kind of a fun, collaborative weekend to deal with something so harsh and cruel, which is grief."

Mr Thomas said the children's safety was assured at the camps.

"That's our highest priority," he said.

"All our mentors are trained.  And they get their working with children check and national criminal history check. And we have our head psychologist who has designed our program and oversees the intake of volunteers.

"Not only do the kids get a lot out of the camps, but the volunteers do too, seeing how resilient and brave kids can be."

Curtin dad Trevor Hickman sent his children Audrey, 11, and Elijah, nine, to a previous Camp Magic event in Sydney. His wife, their mother Amy, died in 2014 of breast cancer.

Mr Hickman said the children thrived at the camp.

"I just think the mentoring they provide is fabulous," he said.

"They do a lot of work before the camp so the children are really well-matched with the mentors. And they're having fun as well. It's not just a kind of really heavy grief session.

"I've just found throughout the whole journey that it's really advantageous [for them] to have contact with other kids in the same boat."

Tina Tanfara, of Weston, also has experience with the camps. Her husband, Denis, died as a result of suicide in 2014.  Mrs Tanfara is raising their three children, Sienna, 10; Madison, eight; and Ava, five.

"The eldest has gone on camp a couple of times and it just helps them to understand grief and process their emotions and their feelings," she said.

"It's an outlet with other children of similar ages, and it's a very safe environment for them to feel like they are part of a group that has encountered a similar situation.

"My kids go into camp on the Friday a bit shy, and by Sunday they've just blossomed. It feels like a weight has been lifted off their shoulders, that they're not the only ones."

Mr Thomas said it cost $1000 for each child to attend, which was covered by community donations, so that no child ever missed out.

"We need the support of the community to make that happen, not only from a financial position, but volunteers who are mental health professionals, educators and mentors," he said.

It's a personal campaign for Mr Thomas, with he and his wife working full-time on the Camp Magic project.

An only child, he lost his father to a two-year cancer battle at the age of 25. His mother died on his 31st birthday, unexpectedly, due to a brain aneurysm.

"After Dad's death I set a goal of  buying my dream home for myself, my girlfriend who's now my wife, and my mum," he said.

"I started a signwriting business, worked my backside off, finally got the house six years later, and the day we're moving in, my birthday, my mum dropped dead and it was kind of like my purpose was ripped away from me.

"Grief taught me a lot about myself. And it taught me all the things I was making a priority in my life, weren't my priority. For me, my life purpose now is just to help others heal."

Mental health professionals and mentors who would like to volunteer for Camp Magic and families who would like to learn more can email admin@feelthemagic.org.au or go to feelthemagic.org.au for more information.